Reviews, Etc.

REVIEW: The Secret Service of Tea and Treasure by India Holton

Summary


A.U.N.T. is the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret intelligence agency of “below stairs” staffers like butlers and ladies maids. Alice Dearlove, Agent A, is the top operative in A.U.N.T., and Daniel Bixby is her biggest rival. His identity was a secret to her until recently. But now they have to put their rivalry – and unwelcome chemistry – aside to prevent an assassination.

Review


This is book 3 in the Dangerous Damsels series – and it was a delight from start to finish! Everything I loved about book 1 was back. And the characters and story were just right for me. The backstory of hurts and trauma and longing here is subtle and beautiful, tucked behind hilarious innuendo, riotous chaos, and pirates with magically flying houses. I love this mashup of historical fiction with romance and fantasy. This was a hoot!

At one moment in the middle I realized the characters weren’t really moving forward in their quest to find the weapon and save the queen – and I didn’t really care. I was having too much fun with these characters. The found family elements here are a treat. The innuendo – and Alice’s naïveté – was hilarious! And once again the writing is stellar. I love how Holton crafts a sentence. I would definitely read this again.

Series fans should absolutely pick this one up. I think it helps to have read the previous books, both for the world building and also for some character crossover. But if you start here, I think you can follow the story – but you will want to read more! (Language, sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ – I loved it! Would re-read.

BOOK NEWS: May 23, 2023

Here are some of the books releasing this week:

Books for Kids


Cranky Chicken: Crankosaurus – I fell in love with the Cranky Chicken books when I discovered them last year. I can’t wait to read the third book in the series!

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults


The Labors of Hercules Beal – A boy named for a mythical hero thinks he is nothing like his namesake, but a teacher challenges him to duplicate Hercules’ feats and see what he discovers. I can’t wait to read this one!
Picture-Perfect Boyfriend – When a girl’s made-up boyfriend shows up at the airport for her family’s vacation, she can’t very well call him out as a fraud without exposing her own lies. Yes, please!

 

Books for Adults


The Blighted Stars (Trade Paperback) – First in a new series. A woman hiding in plain sight as a bodyguard for the Mercator heir finds herself trapped with him on a dead planet. The two band together to survive and along the way uncover a plot neither of them bargained for. Sounds awesome!
The Front Porch Club (Mass Market Paperback) – Three women whose lives have turned upside down find friendship and community together.
Gone Rogue (e-book) – Book 3 in the Mia Murphy Mystery series. When a local bad girl turns back up and is later murdered, Mia starts investigating to keep a friend from being wrongly accused of the crime.
Mrs. Nash’s Ashes (Trade Paperback) – Millie agreed to transport her elderly neighbor’s ashes to symbolically reunite her with her lost love. But when she said yes, she didn’t count on having to make her delivery via road trip with an obnoxious acquaintance. This looks fun!
Rogue Justice (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the Avery Keene series by Stacey Abrams. Law clerk Avery Keene stumbles onto another conspiracy. This series sounds amazing. I have book 1 on my TBR.

 

REVIEW: Stink: Superhero Superfan by Megan McDonald

Summary


Stink discovers a box of comics in the family garage and becomes a super-fan of Super Gecko. He plans to study Super Gecko’s powers at Saturday Science Club when they have Superhero Science Day.

When Stink finds a mysterious note signed “Super Gecko,” he starts investigating to see if his new favorite hero could be real.

 

Review


This was delightful! This may be Stink’s 13th book, but this brings back the joy of his earliest adventures.

There’s a fun mash up here of science, mystery, and comic books, and I loved all of it. This could be a fun class read aloud or a bedtime read. There are some fun tie-ins here for Free Comic Book Day or science classes/clubs. It’s a winner all the way around!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

REVIEW: Moorewood Family Rules by HelenKay Dimon

[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Avon in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary


Jillian Moorewood is newly released from prison. Crashing her family of con artists’ big garden party by arriving – unannounced – in a helicopter was a stroke of genius. They were nearly apoplectic.

She had told them all they needed to go straight while she dealt with her prison sentence. But with her out of the way, they doubled down on their schemes. Now Jillian is going to wrangle this family onto the straight and narrow, no matter what it takes.

Jillian’s allies insist she have a bodyguard because the rest of the family won’t go down without a fight. And Beck the bodyguard is committed to keeping Jillian safe – and finding all the evidence they need to keep her that way. The banter and steamy interactions between them is just a bonus!

Review


This was so fun! I couldn’t read this as quickly as I wanted to – these last few weeks have been just too busy. But this was never far from my mind in the long gaps. I remembered everything in the interim while I waited to pick this back up again (something that rarely happens when I have to take a break from a story). I longed to curl up with it. Once I carved out some time, I blitzed through to the end.

This was a perfect fit for me. I loved Jillian. Her revenge fantasies – and realities – were right up my alley. I couldn’t wait for her family to get their comeuppance, but at the same time, I also didn’t hate them when they were on the scene. The author does a masterful job of walking the fine line between making the reader want to see them get theirs while also not making readers despise them. The choice to give one of them a few POV chapters really helped with this too.

I enjoyed Jillian’s personal journey as she wrestled with her responsibility for and to her family. There were some Enneagram 2-ish vibes to this part of the story that I enjoyed. I highly recommend this book – super satisfying story with great characters!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥♥½ = I loved it! Would re-read.

BOOK NEWS: May 16, 2023

Let’s take a look at some of the books out this week!

Books for Teens/Young Adults


Julieta and the Romeos – A young writer posts her work online and finds herself with an intriguing collaborator. Yes, please!
The DC Book of Pride (Nonfiction) – Highlights DC Comics’ characters in the LGBTQ+ community. The artwork on the sample pages I have seen is gorgeous. Will definitely be picking this one up!
You: The Story: A Writer’s Guide to Craft Through Memory (Nonfiction) – A writer’s guide that encourages young writers to use their own lives and experiences to help them grow as writers. This sounds amazing!

 

Books for Adults


The Late Mrs. Willoughby (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Mr. Darcy and Miss Tilney Mystery series after The Murder of Mr. Wickham (which is on my TBR). When Jonathan Darcy and Juliet Tilney are once again together at the site of a murder, they team up to solve the crime. This series sounds so fantastic. I can’t wait to get some time to dig into the first book!
The Malevolent Seven (Hardcover) – I can’t do the summary of this justice – you’ll just have to read up on this one for yourself. I am fascinated to see what this one is like!
A Novel Disguise (Trade Paperback) – First in a new Lady Librarian Mystery series. A young woman takes her half-brother’s identity after his death so she can keep her home. But that seems to be only one of a dozen mysteries and secrets swirling around her. Sounds fun!
Seven Rules for Breaking Hearts (Trade Paperback) – When a podcaster breaks her own rules for hooking up without “catching feelings” by falling in love and getting married, her podcasting partner tries to save their reputations and their following by breaking all the rules herself to show what a terrible idea that is.  She is certain the best man is the perfect person to help her prove her point – until she actually starts to fall for him.
Summer Reading (Trade Paperback) – A incident on a ferry when a determined non-reader knocks a bookworm’s latest read into the ocean could lead to love. Yes, please! Can’t go wrong with Jenn McKinlay.

 

Playing Catch Up, part 4

Thanks so much for visiting The Neverending TBR today. I don’t have a review to post. As I am writing this, I am in the middle of three books – one is an ARC, one is a library book, and one is a personal favorite I have read a dozen times. And I can’t seem to get any traction on any of them, even though I am enjoying all three. Life is super busy right now with work and family which isn’t leaving a lot of reading time. So I am going to take a couple weeks off from reviews and see if I can get caught up.

Instead, I thought I would share some favorites from 2023 so far!

My fourth five star review of the year was for Teen Titans: Robin – you can read my full review here.

Playing Catch Up, part 3

Thanks so much for visiting The Neverending TBR today. I don’t have a review to post. As I am writing this, I am in the middle of three books – one is an ARC, one is a library book, and one is a personal favorite I have read a dozen times. And I can’t seem to get any traction on any of them, even though I am enjoying all three. Life is super busy right now with work and family which isn’t leaving a lot of reading time. So I am going to take a couple weeks off from reviews and see if I can get caught up.

Instead, I thought I would share some favorites from 2023 so far!

My most recent five star review this year was for Damsel – you can read my full review here.

BOOK NEWS: May 9, 2023

Here are some of the new books out this week!

Books for Older Kids/Teens/ Young Adults


The Greatest Kid in the World – When Zeke is chosen to compete in a competition to be named Greatest Kid in the World, he’s not sure how he even got into the contest. But his family needs the prize money so he will do what he can to win. I don’t think you can go wrong with a book by John David Anderson!
Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Taking the Blame – Book 2 in the series. Loki is trying to prove to Odin that he can be good enough for Asgard, but it’s tough to be good when his only friend now has a new friend and when he’s accused of stealing Mjolnir.
Breaking In – A film student wants to make a tribute movie about her dad, but her school gets shut down and the big-time director who ran it steals her idea and makes his own movie. *adds to cart* Need it!
Cursed Crowns – Sequel to Twin Crowns (which I have on my TBR shelves – I hate when I get “lapped” and a sequel is released before I get to read the first book.) The twin queens are pulled in different directions by their rival goals and ideas of what they should do next for their kingdom.
The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich (Graphic Novel) – A young woman disguises herself as a Count in order to keep her inheritance, but when she starts to fall for Princess Brie, her secret is in danger.
The Truth About the Spy (ebook) – A teen spy’s secret life – and her best friend – are in danger when one of her missions goes awry.

 

Books for Adults


The Boyfriend Candidate (Trade Paperback) – A shy school librarian trying to become more bold ends up in the middle of a political scandal when  her one night stand turns out to be running for governor and pictures of the two of them go viral. He proposes they fake date until after the election. You all know how I feel about fake dating stories!! This is on my list.
The Comeback Summer (Trade Paperback) – In order to hook a new client for their struggling business, two sisters agree to complete individual challenges for the client. This is one I couldn’t buy fast enough. Sounds perfect!

 

Playing Catch Up, part 2

Thanks so much for visiting The Neverending TBR today. I don’t have a review to post. As I am writing this, I am in the middle of three books – one is an ARC, one is a library book, and one is a personal favorite I have read a dozen times. And I can’t seem to get any traction on any of them, even though I am enjoying all three. Life is super busy right now with work and family which isn’t leaving a lot of reading time. So I am going to take a couple weeks off from reviews and see if I can get caught up.

Instead, I thought I would share some favorites from 2023 so far!

One of my favorite YA reads this year was The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway – you can read my full review here.

Playing Catch Up, part 1

Thanks so much for visiting The Neverending TBR today. I don’t have a review to post. As I am writing this, I am in the middle of three books – one is an ARC, one is a library book, and one is a personal favorite I have read a dozen times. And I can’t seem to get any traction on any of them, even though I am enjoying all three. Life is super busy right now with work and family which isn’t leaving a lot of reading time. So I am going to take a couple weeks off from reviews and see if I can get caught up.

Instead, I thought I would share some favorites from 2023 so far!

My first five star review of the year was for Tell Her Story – you can read my full review here.